Secrets and Regrets
by Puppets Blizzt
Summary: slight AU. The story starts with a scene from the Long Morrow. Lorelai regrets giving Luke an ultimatum. When he shows up at her house, his truck piled with food and supplies, what will she do? Discontinued.
1. Bop It and Army Skirts

**Yes, this first chapter is based loosely upon the scene in Season 7, Episode 1: The Long Morrow. I've added more emotion and thoughts to it, however, and the ending has been altered. In this first chapter, expect little to no sarcasm from Lorelai. Or actually, expect none at all. In this first chapter she's hurting and ridding her house of Luke, so.... yeah. **

**However, you can expect Lorelai to be back to her usual, dirty, hilarious self soon. (:**

**Reviews are loved && much appreciated.**

**--Puppet**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or the Stars Hollow characters. Though sometimes I wish I did. ;D**

* * *

"Are you sure everybody's okay?" Lorelai asked worriedly. Even though she and Luke were over and finished, she couldn't keep the hint of worry from her voice. She shifted uncomfortably, but stopped herself. Why should she feel ashamed? He was her friend - nothing more. They had known each other for many years, it was only natural that she should feel worried for the safety of a fellow Stars Hollow citizen, right? But she knew that wasn't entirely true. Her mind drifted, wandering to that one day they had first met. "Give her coffee and she will go away." But she hadn't gone away, had she? She had continued to pester him each and every day. Their relationship had grown; blossoming into a fledgling romance. Memories flashed in her mind; the day they met, their first kiss, their first official date, the eve _she_ proposed, the night it ended… that was perhaps the most humiliating. She remembered with a pain, asking Luke to run away with her and his decline, insisting that April had to be factored in. April – stupid April… No, April wasn't stupid – she was smart and fun. But it was because of her that Luke had postponed the wedding forever. Her heart ached, and she blinked back oncoming tears. Sure, she may have seemed alright on the outside, but inside… inside she was hurt. Aching. Weakened. Only Rory's reassuring voice jolted her from her reverie, soothing and calm.

"It was a mess, but everything's fine. I swear." Lorelai sighed visibly, hoping her daughter had not noticed. She had. The elder Gilmore – though no more mature than the younger – looked around quickly for something to change the subject, but it was Rory who spoke first. "What is this?"

Lorelai Victoria Gilmore looked around grimly. Before Rory had come in, she had been collecting Luke's things, anything that reminded her of Luke, and anything that resembled a presence of Luke in any way, shape or form. It was much like Rory's Dean-phase, where she had tried to get rid of her stuffed turkey, but had been talked out of it by her mother. This situation, however, was far worse. With such a long lasting relationship, the Gilmore house had been nearly stripped of everything – quite literally. The wallpaper she had picked out with Luke was gone, to be replaced by the old, faded yellow walls. It seemed the only thing that _had_ remained was the new bedroom and bathroom upstairs. "Umm… I'm just getting some of Luke's stuff together."

"This is Luke's?" Rory held up a camouflage skirt.

"No, this is mine. But I wore it with Luke when we went to see "jarhead." I was trying to look kind of army, and something about the combination of the movie and the hot dogs at the Waterbury Cineplex made me sick in the parking lot, and Luke held my hair, and it was nice, and now I gotta get rid of it," was Lorelai's reply, her voice saddened. Rory replied with only a single syllable: "Oh."

Lorelai sighed. "Yeah, this pile is Luke's stuff," she looked at the first pile glumly, "This pile is stuff that _reminds_ me of Luke."

Rory looked at the pile, shifting through some of the items. Suddenly, she exclaimed in shock, "You're getting rid of Bop it?"

Lorelai nodded.

"Why?" her daughter asked in confusion.

"You know why," Lorelai replied simply, to which Rory nodded in understanding as the reason dawned on her.

"Oh…sad," Rory said. She sat there for a moment before she spoke again.

"Okay, what happened between you two? You have got to give me something here, because you cannot just say that you don't want to talk about it, because I saw Luke today, and I waved at him, and I did not know how to act. Was it an "I hate you" wave, or an "I'm sorry" wave, or "I can't believe you wanted my mother to shave her head and become a Moonie" wave?"

"He doesn't want me to shave my head. You shouldn't hate him. There's nothing to be angry about. You knew we were having problems, right? The whole April thing and postponing the wedding… Finally, I got tired of waiting for him, so I gave him an ultimatum," she said, half regretfully. Should she have given him an ultimatum? That one choice might have forced him away from her forever… was that what she wanted? She sighed, regaining her composure before she continued, "And he said no."

_He said no._ Three simple words defined her emotions when she was alone. Everyone in Stars Hollow knew how involved they had been – ever since she had walked downstairs into Luke's diner wearing nothing but his blue, flannel plaid shirt.

"So, that's it. It's over. Here I am, making piles. The third stage of grief is making piles."

Rory sat there motionless, staring at her mother.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked worriedly.

Lorelai sat there for what seemed like hours but had really only been seconds. She stared blankly at the floor, the bittersweet memories of her time with Luke flashing through her mind once more; her ice rink, fishing, even when he yelled at her she couldn't help but love him. The sound of claws clinked on the hardwood floor and Paul Anka padded in. He leaped up onto an open space on the couch and curled up, resting his head on his paws. Half unconsciously, Lorelai patted the dog's head.

"No kid, I'm not," was all she said. Her gaze was distant, her voice quiet and barely audible. Rory stood up and moved to sit next to her, leaning her head against her mother's shoulder comfortingly. Lorelai turned her head slightly, before laying her head atop her daughter's.


	2. Lorelai? Luke!

**Alright, I combined two chapters, because the original chapter two was seriously short. There is a break where you will notice that is where I initially intended the end of chapter two. Obviously, I've changed my mind on that. XDD**

**I'm also trying something I've never done before: Instead of entering the mind of one character, I've entered the mind of two: Luke and Lorelai. Admittedly, Luke's tidbit was short and not as prominent, but it feels odd to me delving into two separate minds. We'll see how it goes. ;D**

**As always, reviews are loved. ^^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.  
**

* * *

As morning came, Lorelai crawled slowly from bed, slowly making her way down the stairs and into the living room. She grabbed the post with her hand and swung off the steps, turning the corner towards the kitchen. Paul Anka jumped up from his bed on the couch and scrambled after her.

"Hey Paul Anka," she greeted. The shaggy dog looked up at her with bright eyes, his tail wagging behind him. "You hungry?"

The dog kneaded the ground with his paws – an obvious yes. She smiled softly, dipping a small pile of food into his bowl. Instead of diving for it, he merely looked up at her with an inquisitive, piercing stare.

"I know, Paul Anka. I'm going to turn off the light…" the switch clicked to 'off,' "and slowly leave the room. So eat your food… and I'll be back." With that, she turned and walked quietly from the kitchen. She looked around, and upon seeing a picture frame of Luke and her, immediately went towards it. Now, one might assume that she would break it to pieces by smashing it forcefully on the ground. Or maybe she would just chuck it out the front door. But she did neither. Instead, she stared at it intensely. It wasn't the best picture of the two of them…. In fact, she wasn't even sure when it was taken. But by quickly examining it, she realized it was taken at the Dragonfly Inn. The two of them were standing in the doorway. His firm grip was around her waist, pulling her closer. Her hands were wrapped loosely around his neck and she seemed to be leaning in – as if ready to kiss him. She then realized who had taken the picture. Just the slight glimpse of a thumb in the corner told her which unprofessional photographer had done it. But how, she wasn't sure. She didn't even know how it managed to get into her house.

She continued to stare at it for a moment longer, before picking it up and holding it close to her chest. As she looked up, a flash of light caught her eye and she hurried to the door to see who it was. The large white door opened quickly, and she let out a faint gasp.

The familiar vehicle was the first thing she saw. Then she noticed supplies piled in the back. And finally, she noticed the prominent feature – a man. He was climbing out of the truck and walking around the back towards the front door. Towards _her. _When he saw her standing there, he stopped for a moment. Lorelai took in his appearance; a red, flannel plaid shirt, backwards baseball cap, jeans, and that goofy grin.

The man before her was none other than Luke Danes.

* * *

"L-Luke!" Lorelai stammered in surprise. Who would have thought that the man she had chased away would reappear in her life? She slowly descended the short flight of steps so that she was standing directly in front of him. The door behind her still stood wide open, the warm spring air sweeping into the house.

"You know, it's not good to leave your door open. Flies and such…" Luke trailed. Lame. It was so lame. One sentence – okay, two – and it was about air. Luke cursed himself silently. He wasn't supposed to be here criticizing her decisions – he was _supposed _to be here to ask her to run away with him! He opened his mouth to recover, but Lorelai spoke first. Her voice was soft, but he couldn't help but chuckle at her everlasting sense of humor. No, she definitely had not changed since he saw her last, six months ago. Six long months ago, when he had turned her down. It was perhaps his greatest mistake - his worst mistake. He had lost the only woman he had ever truly loved. But now he was determined to get her back.

"Yeah, well, then Paul Anka can eat them. He won't eat mice, but I'm sure he'd love I nice juicy fly," she replied, "What are you doing here, anyways?" Ah, so harsh. Perhaps a little too harsh. But it was all she could do to prevent herself from bursting into tears – remain strong. Remain defiant. She closed her eyes for a brief moment to regain her composure before they flickered open again, this time piercing Luke with a questioning glare.

Luke hesitated. He had obviously caught the hostility in her tone. _Damn it,_ she thought. "Luke, I—" she began, but was quickly cut off when he made his reply.

"Let's go to Maryland."

"…What?"

"Maryland. Let's go. You said you wanted to. At Martha's Vineyard. I haven't forgotten," Luke repeated evenly. Lorelai stared blankly, taken aback. But before she could reply, Luke rambled on. He was getting more enthusiastic by the second, how could she interrupt?

"I have everything ready. We can just go. Just get in the truck and we'll go. A week. Two weeks. As long as you want," he said – or almost pleaded.

"But Paul Ank—"

"Paul Anka can stay with Babette."

"Ror—"

"She's almost 23. She can take care of herself. And on top of that, she has Logan. Lorelai, they'll be fine. Both of them," Luke countered. They'll be fine. They'd live. They'd survive until they got back from Maryland. Or Connecticut. Or wherever Lorelai wanted to go. Where Lorelai went, Luke went. If she wanted to go to New York City, so be it. He'd get them there. Hell, if she wanted to go to _Tennessee,_ he'd get them there however he could.

Lorelai sighed. She knew he was right. Deep down, she knew he was. Rory no longer needed to depend on her. She was an adult now, by law. And Paul Anka – Luke was right again. Paul Anka would be fine with Babette and Morey. He would even be fine at Sookie's – he had fun there last time there. Admittedly, half of the time was spent evading Davey and his tail-pulling frenzy. But now Davey was four years old. Still young, but old enough to know right from wrong. Both would be safe. Both would be happy. Both would _definitely _be happy with her running away with Luke. Rory would shove her out the door faster than ever thought possible, and Paul Anka – well, Paul Anka would probably just wag his tail in delight. But still – they would be fine and glad with what she might do. And if they would be happy, why couldn't she be happy? Just this once… but the idea was still unthinkable in her mind. She still hadn't even told Luke about Chris. Now would be the perfect time to tell him, but it could also ruin her chance at a life with Luke…. A life of lies, or a life of luxury?

"Lorelai?" Luke asked warily, stepping forward ever so slightly. Lorelai responded by taking a quick step back. She nearly toppled over, as the stairs were just behind her, but Luke's quick instincts saved her at the last moment, his arms flashing out to catch her as she fell. He held her close, the warmth of his grasp encasing her in bliss. But it couldn't last forever.

"Lorelai?" he repeated, worry now creeping into his voice.

_Alright Lorelai, now or never._

"I slept with Christopher."

The warmth left her body. His arms moved away. Before she could even gather another coherent sentence, he was gone from her side – stalking back towards his truck.

"Luke…" Lorelai said hoarsely, but he didn't hear – or pretended not to. The door shut with a loud slam, Luke venting his anger against his truck. She was louder now, growing desperate and worried. She had lost him. He had turned. As soon as she mentioned Chris – whom she knew he hated – he had bolted, leaving her alone in her yard. The rev of the engine signaled his hasty retreat. He was embarrassed. That was obvious. Who wouldn't be, after such a surprise like that?

She stumbled forward, trying to hold back an oncoming river of tears.

"Luke!"

* * *

**So I bet there are some unhappy people, correct?**

**Well don't worry -- she's not going to go sobbing to Chris again. (:**

**The weekend is here, so most of you are probably thinking - ohyay! More chapters will come faster!**

**Wrong. For me, weekends mean chores in my house. .-. Fun, no?**

**I get the most done on weekdays, surprisingly.**

**I'll get chapter 3 up soon, though. ^^  
**


	3. Tomorrow, I promise

**So, I'm going to switch every now and then between Luke and Lorelai/Rory. **

**Yey for me. xDD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.  
**

* * *

Lorelai watched in despair as the truck drove away. Slowly, she turned her back, making her way back inside. She looked around her house, knowing it was missing something. And she knew what it was, too.

Luke.

Her house, once lively and bright, now looked gloomy and depressing what she looked at it. Even her beloved home was saddened by his absence. The sound of Rory awaking drew Lorelai towards her kitchen. She poured a cup of coffee and hurried to Rory's bedroom door where she waited for it to open. When it did and her daughter stumbled out, she thrust the cup towards her.

"Good morning," she said brightly. Rory took the coffee gratefully and dragged herself towards the table. Lorelai took up a position in the chair opposite.

"No Luke's?" Rory asked.

"Nope, no Luke's today," Lorelai confirmed. It had been like this for a few months now, and she wondered why Rory had suddenly asked. It wasn't like they had made up or anything…

"Mom…" Rory trailed. Worry was laced in her tone, as well as curiosity. Lorelai quickly picked up on it and prompted her to continue.

"Do you think Luke could have been _the one_?" she asked.

Oh great - _this_ conversation again. The last time she had asked that, Lorelai and Luke really were in a relationship. Now they weren't. But since then, Rory had picked up on Lorelai's lies, and could easily tell when she was lying and when she was not. Lorelai sighed, deciding it would be less complicated to tell her the truth.

"Yes, I think he could have been. You know I loved him. But it's over now. He came by when you were asleep." she replied slowly. Then, she continued, sharing the previous events with Luke with her daughter. Rory simply sat there, confused.

"Well, if you love him, then why did you let him drive away?" she asked.

"Oh hun, it's much more complicated than that. I slept with Chris, after – after he ended it," Lorelai said. She was beginning to fall apart – again. She had gone to Chris for comfort. And true, it had only been one night, but one night was enough to burden her for the rest of her life.

"You did, yes. But Luke will understand. He'll have to understand. Don't let him walk away again. He's waited for you for seven years – through Max, Alex, Dad, Jason… he's not about to forget you that easily. It's not too late, go," Rory replied. And she was right. He had waited. Diligently, Loyally… and Lorelai had done nothing but throw a knife to his heart. She knew he hated Christopher, and to tell him something like that was evil and cruel. But it had been true – and to _not_ tell him would have been a heavy weight on her shoulders.

"Since when did you become so wise?" she teased.

"Go to Luke. Talk to him. Make him understand," was all Rory had to say in response.

"Understand what? He hates me, Rory," Lorelai countered. There was no hostility in her tone, only sadness. He _hated_ her, she was sure of it.

"Just… I don't know. But you need to talk to him… before it's too late – before he—" Rory cut herself off, unwilling to finish her sentence. But Lorelai already knew what it was.

_Before he moves on_.

* * *

The car door shut with a slam. Luke cursed silently to himself, his eyes narrowing in pure hatred. But not for Lorelai.

For Christopher Hayden.

He drove away from Lorelai's house, restraining himself from looking back at her through the rear view mirror. He'd see her later.

When he reached Christopher's address, he stalked up to the door and ascended through the elevator. He had managed to get the address from Babette back at his diner, who had, mistakenly, mentioned Chris in his diner. He then proceeded to give her an ultimatum of his own: be banished from the diner or Chris's address. She, of course, chose the latter.

Anger swelled inside him, and as the elevator doors opened on Chris's floor, he hurried over to a large door and pounded on it with his fist using as much force and power he could muster. As the door opened, the man barely had time to register the identity of his visitor before a fist swung towards him. He stumbled backwards but survived the hit. Before he could retaliate, however, Luke was already stalking back towards the elevator. Christopher hurried after him anyways, his eyes narrowed. His footfalls were heavy, and Luke swung around before he could deal a blow. He started towards him, pinning him against the wall. His eyes were narrowed with distaste, and he longingly wished he could kill him and get away with it. But of course, such a crime would be impossible. And if he did, he would probably never see Lorelai again. So instead, he managed another punch at him. Christopher escaped his grasp and stood there for a mere moment, confused.

"Why are you here?" he managed to ask angrily.

"You know why," was the gruff reply of Luke. The two were circling each other menacingly.

"No, I really don't," Chris said. Luke realized he truly had no idea. But surely it wouldn't take too long for him to find out. He wasn't _that_ dense, after all.

"Just stay away from Lorelai," Luke snarled. He had stepped back into the elevator and swiftly hit "1" followed immediately by "ß," which was the signal for closed doors. The elevator's solid, sliding gates closed quickly, and Luke couldn't help but smirk at Chris's final glare.

He had won.

* * *

The two were now sitting on the couch, Paul Anka resting at their feet. Casablanca reeled on the television screen, and Lorelai couldn't help but tell Rory about how Luke had kept talking during the movie, breaking all movie rules in the process.

"You're breaking them now, too," Rory pointed out good-naturedly, "Just go to Luke's, Mom."

Lorelai nodded, much to Rory's delight and surprise. Usually, Lorelai Gilmore was never one to give up easily.

"You're right. I'll go," she agreed. Rory smiled.

"Tomorrow," Lorelai added with a grin.

_Procrastinators, unite! ... tomorrow._

Rory gave a small, weak laugh.

"I'll hold you to that, missy."

* * *

**I know there were a lot of unhappy people with the last chapter about Chris. But I kept to the story line from the Long Morrow on that mostly so Luke could beat Chris up. x3 **

**I'm actually really loving this fanfic. So much, that I've worked on it off the computer: on my phone. xDD**

**I'm saving works in drafts on my messages. Heh. **

**From now on, I'm pretty sure nothing is coming from the episodes anymore. Maybe a few things, but I'm not going to be sticking to it like I was in chapter one. (:  
**


	4. It's Not Too Late

**Chapter Four: Longest ever. 2,446 words before disclaimer, etc. I didn't mean for it to be this long, I SWEAR. XDD  
**

**Most of it was typed on my phone. Heh.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.**

**

* * *

**

Lorelai Gilmore awoke with a start to the soft hands of Rory Gilmore, who was staring down at her determinedly.

"Today's the day. Luke's for breakfast. Let's go."

Damn. So she had remembered. Lorelai had been holding out hope that she had forgotten. Obviously, it wasn't so. She climbed slowly out of bed and gave a wide yawn.

"Okay, give me a few minutes. I'll meet you there," she said.

"Uhh, no. I think I'll wait," Rory replied. She sat back in the chair beside Lorelai's bed diligently. Lorelai sighed.

"Alright, fine. But you do realize that you have to leave the room in order for me to change, right?"

"Or you can just go in your sweats. It's not like anyone will care," Rory countered.

Lorelai shrugged. That was true. She remembered one time when she had entered the diner from upstairs in nothing but Luke's shirt. No one had really noticed – or seemed to care, anyways. But this time was different. Now, they were not in a relationship.

"Go sit outside," Lorelai said finally. Rory sighed, but got up and made for the door.

* * *

The front door opened, warm spring air dancing around the Gilmore girls. Rory led the way, letting her mother follow closely behind as they descended the wooden stairs.

"Are we driving or walking to Luke's?" Rory asked, looking at the two cars.

Lorelai, still conservative and stubborn, still owned her 2000 Wrangler, of which she highly liked. It was old, but it still ran and was therefore approved by Lorelai. Rory, on the other hand, still drove her Toyota Prius she had received from her grandparents for graduation. It ran well, and both cars would certainly get them there faster than by walking. Even so, walking would take longer, and she could procrastinate talking to Luke along the way – maybe even talk Rory out of going.

"We'll walk," she decided, setting off down the driveway and onto the paved sidewalk.

She and Rory walked side by side, something the town had missed during their months apart. True, they had been back together for a number of months now, but with Rory attending college again she hadn't had much time to spend back in Stars Hollow. Many citizens smiled as the two passed and Rory couldn't help but grin.

When they reached Luke's, Lorelai hesitated. She glanced at Rory, who nodded encouragingly.

"Let's go."

And so, for the first time in weeks, Lorelai Gilmore set foot in Luke's. The customers fell silent. Most were daily customers, and therefore knew her quite well from when she used to come in. She turned towards her regular seat, only to find it already occupied by someone.

Kirk.

He turned around upon noticing the hushed diner, and his eyes widened slightly in alarm to seeing Lorelai. Suddenly he grew defensive, narrowing his eyes. Then he spoke.

"You can't have this seat. It's mine since you left. And you haven't been seen here for two weeks and six days," he said, "Besides, you wouldn't kick out a groom, would you?"

"Kirk, I don't want your seat. I'll just sit—" she cut herself off, her brain managing to translate Kirk's words.

"Groom? You're getting married?" she exclaimed.

The crowd gave a collective gasp. Kirk, the town's wayward and eccentric citizen… married? The idea was ludicrous… Insane… Unimaginable… yet thrilling. He nodded and Lorelai smiled.

"Kirk, that's great! To Lulu, right?"

"Well I hope so, mother's already printed the wedding invitations," was Kirk's response. Lorelai's smile curved into a frown.

"Have you even asked Lulu yet?" she asked warily. But even without asking, she knew what the answer would be before he even spoke.

"Nope."

"Kirk, don't you think you should ask her first, before you start making any plans?" Lorelai inquired.

"Well, I guess… does that mean you want your seat back? Because you still can't have it. Not since you haven't been here for two weeks and six days," Kirk replied.

"Three weeks, Kirk," Lorelai confirmed.

"No, two weeks and six days," Kirk corrected, "See, I made note of when you were last here and I've kept a record since. Since then, you've gone to Weston's and then gone to the Dragonfly. For lunch, you go to Weston's—"

"Kirk, have you been stalking me?" Lorelai asked, humored.

"Lorelai, you're not invisible," Kirk pointed out, "You used to come here every day and now you're not. Even Taylor's starting to notice. He's collecting those ribbons again and he's going to start handing them out soon—"

Kirk was cut off once again, but not by Lorelai. The voice was familiar and it made her heart lurch.

"Kirk, leave Lorelai alone and eat your damn food before I give it to some other customer who wants it more."

Luke! Lorelai spun around to see Luke, who was standing on the other side of the counter, making his way towards the coffee maker. It looked like he had just woken up. She gave a small, weak smile to which he politely returned.

"Luke…" she began.

"Coffee?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, sure, thanks. But Luke…" she started again after receiving her coffee.

"Not now, Lorelai. The diner's busy. Later," he said.

Lorelai looked around the diner. She frowned. No one in the diner seemed to want anything. In fact, they were all watching Lorelai and Luke with extreme fascination.

"No it's not, Luke. Look, can we just talk?" she asked.

She leaned against the counter, one hand holding her coffee while the other was planted firmly on the counter. It was clear that she wasn't leaving until she talked with Luke.

He resigned with a sigh.

"Fine. Storage room," he responded. Then he turned around, opening the door into the storage room and closing the door behind him.

Lorelai turned to Rory, who merely mouthed a single word.

"Go."

She inhaled deeply, before following Luke into the storage room. As she opened the door, she found him leaning against one of the shelves opposite, his arms folded loosely across his chest. He stared at her, watching as she entered. There was something in his eyes that confused Lorelai, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Before she could act, Luke was in front of her – kissing her.

She let herself melt in his arms, leaning towards him gratefully. When she finally pulled away, she searched Luke's eyes again. He looked hurt.

"Luke…" she began quietly. Luke only shook his head, pulling Lorelai into a hug. She rested her head on his chest, soothed by the soft beat of his heart.

"It's okay, Lorelai. It's okay…" Luke said. Lorelai looked up at him, pulling away yet again. There were some things she wanted straightened out, and standing here holding each other was no way to do so – even if it did make her happy.

"Luke, listen. Just for a moment," she began. She waited for encouragement from Luke before she continued. When he gave a nod, she did.

"What happened with Chris… I'm sorry. It shouldn't have happened, I know. I was just hurt and confused… but I've figured out a solution; I can cut Chris off. If that's what it takes to keep you. Don't you get that? I choose _you_, Luke. Not him. I took advantage of him – and I know I shouldn't have. But don't you see – I love you," she reeled, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could even stop them.

"I know all this, Lorelai. And I suppose I have something to say 'sorry' for as well," he replied. When Lorelai looked at him quizzically, he inhaled deeply before elaborating.

"I might have pushed you away with April. I didn't mean to, of course. But I did. I thought I had to fix things with April before I could really be with you. It was stupid…" he trailed. Lorelai shook her head.

"No, you're not stupid, Luke. I get where you were coming from with that, I do. It's alright, April is a lucky kid. You had to stabilize a relationship with her," she said, "But it's not too late. We can try again, can't we?"

Luke nodded. "Definitely."

Luke took a swift step forward and grabbed Lorelai around the waist and dragging her closer. Lorelai smiled. But before they could kiss, the storage room door flew open. Kirk stood in the doorway, his eyes wild.

"I'M GETTING MARRIED!" he screamed before turning and running out of the diner bellowing the news to the town.

Lorelai laughed. With a glance at Luke, she turned and re-entered the diner, making her way to Rory.

"So, what's the story?" she asked Rory curiously.

"Well, Lulu came into the diner after you two disappeared and Kirk went _crazy_," she began.

"Apparently he thought about what you said, because he started off by telling Lulu everything he had already planned. And he already did a _ton._ He had wedding invitations, a ring, a tux, the location, a caterer, the wedding tent because he wants it outside in the square…" she trailed off, "So then Kirk got down on one knee like in those romance movies we watch all the time and proposed… except he knelt on Lulu's foot and she started freaking out. Ceasar got her a bag of ice and she sat down. After Kirk apologized like, a lot, he proposed and she said yes. Or, well, more like screamed it. She'd apparently been waiting for him to ask for a while. She jumped up and tackled him…"

"Dirty?"  
"Slightly," Rory chuckled, "So anyways, you know what happened after that."

The two looked out the window of Luke's, where Kirk was still running down the street screaming the news for all to hear. He was close to his house by now, because he suddenly veered right, crashing into the door with a loud thud and stumbling backwards. Lorelai watched in immense fascination.

"If only he had a horse. Then he'd be the new Paul Revere," she pointed out. Rory smiled.

"I think that can be arranged."

"So… they're getting married in a few days…" Rory added.

"Days? Wow."

"Yeah, but Kirk and his mom had pretty much gotten everything together already. Really the only thing missing is Lulu's dress and the guests. But that shouldn't take long, because Kirk said he was going to let the town know, get invitations from home, and then throw them at everyone. The whole town is invited."

"Really? He printed that many invitations?" she asked, amazed.

"Well apparently, because—" Rory broke off, looking out the window in surprise. "—because he just chucked one at Andrew's head."

Lorelai looked out the window. She was right. Andrew, the town's bookstore owner, was running back into his store with a letter held tightly in his grasp, yelling not-so-nice words to Kirk as he did.

"Lulu, you've just made Kirk one happy camper."

Lulu blushed a soft pink, "You and Rory will be there, of course. I'm having some of my best students as bridesmaids," she replied. Rory nodded.

"Yeah, of course. I'll bring Logan," she said.

Lorelai cast a sidelong glance at Luke. Were they on good terms now, or was that a one-time thing? Surely not…Luke, however, had nearly flown to the phone hanging on the wall.

"I'll call April. Kirk is one of her all-time favorite townspeople here and she'll want to come. Anna would understand, I'm sure," he explained. Lulu grinned.

"The more the better!" she exclaimed.

Lorelai looked at Rory ruefully. She and April were friends, but it had been her who basically broke them apart. April wasn't aware of that, of course. If she were, she surely would have tried to stay away. She wanted Lorelai and Luke together, after all. It was fairly obvious.

"So kid, we better get going. You have to get back to Yale, and I have to drop by the Inn," she said. Rory sighed.

"I don't have to go back quite yet."

"Nonono, you promised you'd go back. So you're going back," Lorelai protested.

"I never said I wasn't going back. I just meant I don't need to go back right away," Rory pointed out.

"Fine. But we still better get going, before Michel starts scaring the guests again," she resigned.

She stared at her daughter for a moment longer, an unspoken thought passing between them. It lasted for no more than a second, and Rory nodded in understanding. This wasn't just about getting to the Dragonfly. This was about getting out of Luke's as well. She waved goodbye to Luke and Lulu before heading towards the door. Lorelai looked around. Should she say something? Probably… but what?

"Two coffees to go?"

"Of course," Luke replied immediately, turning behind the counter to the coffee maker. He poured the drink into two paper cups, latching a lid on each. Then he took a pen, scribbled something on one and handed them over to Lorelai. She stared at him curiously, but said nothing as she talked back to the door where Rory stood just outside.

She handed Rory the cup of coffee, looking around.

"Where's the car?" she asked sadly.

"We walked, remember?" Rory replied.

"So I'm supposed to walk to the Dragonfly?" Lorelai asked.

Rory only shrugged, "Unless you're batman or something."

"Superman," Lorelai corrected.

"What?" Rory asked, confused by her mother's correction.

"Superman flies. Batman doesn't," the elder Lorelai explained.

Rory frowned.

"But Batman has a cape, too. Why would he have a cape if he can't fly?" she countered.

Lorelai shrugged, "good looks? Look, all I know is that superman flies and batman does not."

"Mom, trust me. I'm a Yale student."

"Oh, so that means you know more about Superman and Batman?"

"Yes it does."

Lorelai turned back towards the diner.

"Where are you going?" Rory asked.

"We'll ask Luke to use his truck," she decided.

"He'll never let you. After my first day at Yale with the truck – no way." Rory replied.

Lorelai sighed, exasperated.

"Why does everyone think I can't drive a stick?" she complained.

"Because you can't?" Rory offered with a small smile.

* * *

**Definitely not my best, in my opinion.**

**Not sure how I liked the whole Luke and Lorelai reunion. Blechh.**

**I left it off kinda badly, but I really wanted to get it out now instead of dragging it out longer. xD  
**


	5. Forgotten Keys

**Short chapter, I know. **

**But hey, I got it up, right? After like... months. **

**Sorry about that. Lost a muse. XD But no worries, I found her again. ^^**

******Her name's Rue. And yes, I totally just made that name up. And no, I'm not changing it. That would only confuse her.**

******Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls, Lorelai would never have married Chris and Rory would have said yes. That being said, I most definitely do not own Gilmore Girls.**

* * *

Lorelai glared at her daughter, though no hostility lingered in her gaze.

"I'll use the truck," she firmly repeated.

Rory shrugged. "Alright, but don't blame me if he doesn't let you…"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Just watch."

She turned and strolled back into the diner. The bell jingled as the door opened once more and Luke looked up from behind the counter where he was marking receipts.

"What are you doing back here?" he asked – or, more so, demanded.

"Uhh, well, you know. Coffee," she replied.

Luke stared at her then pointed to the to-go cup in her hand.

"You have coffee," he pointed out.

"Oh… right. Well, I wanted to ask you something."

"No."

"But I haven't asked yet!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Well, it's best that I say no." With that he turned, hurrying around the counter with a tray full of food. Lorelai turned, too, rushing after him as he made his rounds around the diner.

"But—"

"No."

"Luke—"

"No."

"Come on!"

"Okay, _what_?" Luke groaned. He stopped and turned around, folding his arms across his chest.

Lorelai drew a breath.

"Okay – I need your truck."

"What? Why?" Luke asked.

"Because."

"Because _why_?"

"Because I need to get to the Dragonfly before Michel scares everyone away," she sighed as if it were obvious.

Luke shook his head.

"No way – I'll drive you there as soon as I'm through."

"Well then how will I get home? Just let me take your truck, Luke. Please?"

"The last time I let you take my truck you had it the whole day plus some. The mattress?"

"But there's not going to be a mattress this time. Unless one at the Dragonfly is spontaneously ruined and I have to take it and dump it somewhere -- then I'd need to go out and buy a new one and…"

"No."

"Luke, _please._ You taught me how to drive a stick – I can drive without harming your precious truck."

Luke scoffed. He turned back for the next plate of food but was intercepted by the ever-persistent Lorelai once more.

"I wasn't finished yet," she complained.

"I was finished listening," he countered.

"No fair."

"Take your car."

"My car is out of gas."

"Get Gypsy to put gas in it."

"By that time Michel will have scared the guests off."

"… Why won't you let me drive you there?"

"Because, then I'd need a ride home."

"I'll drive you home, too."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, Luke. I can't do that to you. You'll have your truck back before sundown."

"I don't care if you have it past sundown," Luke shrugged.

"Well then why can't I borrow the truck?"

"Because I said so, Lorelai," Luke huffed impatiently. "I have a business to run. I might need it."

Lorelai laughed.

"For _what?_ You've got your business _right here._ What, you need it for order-ins? You don't do that. There's absolutely _no _reason you need it today. I'll drive to the Inn, bring it back on my way home and walk back to the Crap Shack. It's easy. Simple."

"_No, _Lorelai. You think you know everything about me. You don't. You don't know what I might need the truck for."

Lorelai glanced around, feigning defeat. Her eyes sparkled as she spotted the keys laying on the end of the counter.

"Fine…" she trailed off, rising slowly. She backed away towards the end of the counter, keeping one hand on the tabletop. Luke stared at her through narrowed eyes. He looked back along the counter and spotted his keys. Fumbling through his pockets, he cursed softly.

All at once, they both lunged for the keys. It was Lorelai who reached them first, being closer, and she backed away triumphantly.

"Gee, thanks Luke!" she squealed happily. Luke hurried out from behind the counter, but Lorelai fled the diner and raced to Luke's truck.

"C'mon, Rory!" Her daughter gave a small fit of laughter and followed suit.

They duo climbed into the truck. Lorelai faltered with the keys, started the engine, and almost ran over Luke Danes.

"Oops, sorry!" she yelled out the window. Putting the car in forward, she sped away, unable to keep the amused look off her face at Luke's enraged figure standing in the street.

Rory stared at her mother.

"We die, and I want 'Blame my mother' on my tombstone."

* * *

**Love it? Hate it?**

**Doesn't matter: Review it.**

**I know it's short. What do you want to do; shoot me?**

**Go ahead then, but have fun finding me. xD**

******I'll try and get the next update up quick, but who knows when that'll be.**

**To some reviewers:**

**ThatxGirlxThere(Kali) -- Haha, yes. That is where I got the idea from. ;)**

**itzcheeseball -- Haha, deadbeat loser. Yes, I know. I couldn't decide if I wanted her to or not. But I decided I would, so Luke could beat Chris up. (: Because I seriously loved that in the show.**

**LanieSullivan (Lanie) -- Heh, I like that, too. The irony, huh? She's such a rule-breaker, that Lorelai Gilmore. ****  
**


	6. Monosyllabic Girl

**Again, short. But hey... I have nothing to defend myself with. Bahh.**

**I'll try to make up for it soon. I really will. C: ****I dunno how I like this one. /= It's okay I suppose. Not my favorite chapter.**

**My favorite is... erhm. It's Not Too Late. Because I luff Kirk. x) ****Oh, and, by the way: Kirk's getting married before any other people are. Soo. ****Because I reallllyyy wanted him to marry Lulu in the series. I always wondered what it would be like. Well, I suppose we'll find out soon!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned/wrote Gilmore Girls, I would be Amy Sherman-Palladino. But as I am a high school student, I am most certainly not ASP, and therefore, I do not own Gilmore Girls.**

* * *

The two Lorelais rode to the Dragonfly in silence.

Ha, sure; if 'silence' was code for nonstop talking. Rory talked about Logan every chance she got, which was practically the entire ride. Lorelai tried to start up a conversation about Paul Anka's uncanny ability to sniff out soup, but Rory could not be swayed.

As they arrived at the inn, Lorelai parked the truck in the back, so, as she put it, "the bad guys wouldn't steal it." Rory had bravely ventured insofar as to ask why a bad guy would steal a beat up, green truck from small, unknown Stars Hollow, but Lorelai had not responded.

They entered the inn through the kitchen, and, as usual, Sookie was preparing for the next meal that would be served: dinner. Sure, dinner was more than five hours away, but that was Sookie.

"Hey Sookie," Lorelai said distractedly, her gaze sweeping the kitchen staff, "where's Michel? I specifically called him on the way here and told him to meet me in the kitchen."

The light ginger haired chef looked up from her preparations. Like always, her hair was parted in pigtails.

"Uh, I dunno," she replied perkily. "Maybe he forgot?"

"Michel? Forget?" Lorelai scoffed, "highly unlikely."

With her daughter in tow, Lorelai made for the lobby in search of the Frenchman. When she reached the lobby, she froze.

Now, the man she expected to show up was Luke, to yell at her for stealing his car. He had excellent reasons to; grand theft auto was a crime, even in tiny little Stars Hollow.

She _wasn't_, however, expecting the man before her: Christopher Hayden.

"Told you that you shouldn't have taken Luke's truck. Karma, my friend," Rory whispered in an attempt to lighten the mood. But she still glared at her father with a hatred one never would have thought possible. Lorelai was too stunned to speak, but when Chris stepped forwards, she took an immediate pace back.

No, she wouldn't make this mistake again. She wouldn't go crying to Chris and take advantage of him. Or let herself be wooed by his 'charm.' No, she would avoid that same mistake. The one she had made last time that had ruined her relationship. Well, almost ruined; it was on the road to recovery. Thank God. She waited to see what Chris was going to say.

"Lor—"

Bah, she didn't want to hear it. Especially if it started with "lor." Her name was _Lorelai. _Lore-lai. Not Lor. She shifted her weight to one side, putting most of it on her left. Her arms were folded and she stared at Chris with an un-amused expression. The man talked on, but Lorelai wasn't listening. His petty lies, his pretending he cared… Maybe he really did care, but if he did; why did he always leave? Why did he never stay? She knew why: because it wasn't real. Luke never left her. He never left without notice. He left only because she pushed him away. But then, he tried to come back. She remembered that like it was yesterday (heck, was it?); Luke driving up to her house, asking her to run off with him, and then his departure. His lonely, silent departure. She wasn't going to mess this up.

She examined him, her eyes running aimlessly over his figure. He hadn't changed much over the years. The same arrogant smile, the same weak limbs… the same bruised eye… wait, bruised? Lorelai narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Wait, Chris. Stop," she spoke finally, her voice hoarse. "What happened?"

Chris blinked once. It took him a moment, but then he understood what she meant.

"Oh, it's nothing, Lor. I just—ran into a pole. That's all," he replied.

A voice behind Lorelai scoffed. "'Course 'ya did."

Lorelai spun around.

"Luke it's—" Luke held his hand out to silence her.

_Luke, it's not what you think._ That's what she really wanted to say, what she was _about _to say. She didn't plan this meeting with Chris, he had to know that. Nor had she expected Luke to chase her back to the Dragonfly. But he had. The ever-faithful Luke and the ever-persistent Chris, back again to terrorize the emotions in Lorelai. The two men glared at each other, their eyes sparked with pure loathing. Rory's gaze switched between the two.

"Hey Dad… hey Luke…" she trailed lamely.

"Hey kiddo," Chris said plainly. Lifelessly. Unemotionally.

"Don't call me 'kiddo,'" Rory muttered under her breath, "I'm not a kid."

"What are you doing here, Chris?" Luke asked, struggling to keep his temper in check. And that was just being nice. Deadbeat loser, idiot, slimeball… and then some other, meaner choice of words which would have been highly inappropriate to voice in a public establishment were all alternatives.

"I came to speak with Lorelai, not with you," Chris replied strictly, his gaze switching to Lorelai.

"Whatever you have to say to her, you can say it to me," Luke countered.

"Uh, not really. I'll speak with Lor, and then I'll leave," Chris said. He seemed sincere, but who really could tell with this guy?

Lorelai spoke for herself now, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I don't want to hear it, Chris. And my name's Lorelai. _Lore-Lai._ Not lor. Two syllables. I'm not monosyllabic girl. That's Luke. Except he's a guy. Unless he suddenly had a gender change he never told me about and he's really a girl _transformed_ as a guy. Woah, that would be freaky. I made out with a _girl_. Gross—"

Luke cut her off swiftly, placing a firm grip on her shoulder.

"Stop your rambling, crazy lady," he whispered in her ear. Louder, he spoke to Chris.

"You heard her. She doesn't want to hear what you've got to say," he said.

Chris, relentlessly, refused to back down.

"Alright, but I'll be waiting, Lor—"

"Lorelai," the Gilmore corrected immediately.

"—Whenever you need me; I'll be there."

"She won't need you, Chris. Now get out," Luke growled.

"Ha, really?" Chris asked, "because I seem to remember her crying to me when you refused her. Who was there? I was."

Oh great, _that _tactic again. He had tried that at her parent's vow renewals; he had brought up the night Lorelai went over to comfort him after his father's death. Luke, thankfully, had already known. But here he was again, trying the same stupid tactic. But it didn't work this time.

"Oh, really? Well who was there for her when her house was infested with termites? Or how about when she wanted to start an Inn? And who was there for Rory? Who helped Rory when she had the chicken pox? I don't recall her father _ever _being in that part of her life until…. Never." Luke shot back. Adrenaline coursed through him; he was fired up now. Angered and annoyed at Chris's persistent manner and unwillingness to back down.

He stepped towards Chris, his fists clenched. "Get out, Chris."

"Or _what_?" Chris asked mockingly. He wore that same arrogant grin on his face, like he didn't think he could ever lose.

"Or you can run into another 'pole,'" Luke offered.

And for once, the man looked hesitant. He stepped back towards the door.

"Fine. But remember that, Lorelai," Chris surrendered, casting a glance at Lorelai for anything.

"S-Screw you," Lorelai snapped.

"Alright, when?" Chris asked jokingly. He turned away immediately, ducked, and narrowly avoided a hit from Luke. "I'm going, I'm going."

He walked out to his motorcycle, and Luke followed close behind. He stood in the doorway to the Dragonfly and watched as Chris sped away.

Rory smiled.

"Well, that certainly would have called for a 'Dirty' had it not been under the given circumstances."

Lorelai laughed and swung her arm around her daughter's shoulders. Together, they marched out to meet Luke.

"Thanks, Luke."

"Just promise me something," Luke replied.

"Anything."

What, never to speak to Chris again? Of course she wasn't going to do that. She would never do that again.

"Never imply that I'm a girl again."

Lorelai laughed.

"Promise?" Luke asked.

"Promise." Lorelai vowed. She rested her head on his shoulder and stared up at the rising sun.

* * *

**Okay, so they were slightly OOC. Slightly.**

**I did my best. XDD Sorreh.**

**Read && Review, please. :3 **


	7. Lawfully Wedded Knife?

**Here it is! ****The marriage of Kirk and Lulu! 3 ****This one is kinda long. Told you I'd make up for the shortness of the last one! Ish...**

**********You know the drill: Read, Review, Enjoy! ... though I guess Review would come last... ohwell. Anyways, get to it! (:**

**********I also need theme ideas for a Lorelai/Luke wedding. If you've got anything, feel free to mention it in the review. **

**'A Little Piece of Heaven's wedding is going to be like the show as it falls in line with it, but this one doesn't, sooo... I need options! (:**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls, I would have let Kirk and Lulu/Lorelai and Luke get married before the show cancelled. As this didn't occur, I don't own the fabulous Gilmores or their amazing friends.**

* * *

The days went by like minutes; fast and non-stop. Kirk had spent his time racing around the Hollow in a hurry to get things done. Lulu aided her future husband in his tasks; she passed out invitations to citizens of Stars Hollow and arranged the wedding with Reverend Skinner. The community was caught up in the commotion of Kirk's wedding, all of them rather thrilled at the prospect of him finally finding someone suitable who could put up with his crazy antics.

Lorelai and Rory, as Rory was on break, had been much the same. Nothing had really changed, and Lorelai had kept her promise to refrain from her transvestite/sex-transplant innuendos (when around Luke, anyways).

She entered the diner merrily, her arms swinging lightly as she hopped into the establishment. Luke came out from the storage room and met her behind the counter, where they shared a light kiss. As Lorelai withdrew, she pulled out something from her purse.

"Look!" she said excitedly, waving the item in front of Luke.

The diner owner read the object carefully.

"User's Manual to Your Television," he read out loud. He looked at the picture on the guide.

"Hey! That's mine!" he exclaimed.

"Whoops, sorry. Wrong one," Lorelai squeaked. She set the guide on the counter, ignoring the glare from Luke, and shuffled through her purse.

When she withdrew it, she handed it to Luke.

He stared at it. "Kirk Gleason and Lulu's Wedding," he read aloud.

"What's Lulu's last name?" he asked curiously.

Lorelai shrugged, "Dunno."

"But anyways, it's today. You in?" she asked.

"Always," Luke replied with a smile.

Lorelai returned the gesture happily.

"Great! It's in like, an hour," Lorelai said.

Luke dropped the towel and cup he was drying on the counter. It clattered but didn't break.

"What? Why are they just now handing out invitations!?" he exclaimed.

"Oh no, they handed those out a few days ago. I just forgot. Until now," she explained.

"Well.... how am I supposed to find something to wear in an hour?" Luke asked.

"Oh, I'm sure it won't matter. Kirk said he doesn't care what people wear," Lorelai replied.

"Oh," was all he had to say in response.

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded, "Oooh!"

"What?" Luke asked at her sudden outburst.

"He also wanted me to tell you that you're the best man," she said. She took a careful step away from the counter.

Luke threw up his hands in aggravation.

"I am NOT going to be the best man for that crazy loon," Luke insisted.

"Sure you are," Lorelai contradicted, "I already told him you would."

"Lorelai...." Luke growled.

"Oh, come on, Luke! It'll be fun!" Lorelai persuaded.

"Says the crazy lady who's not going to be best man," Luke grumbled.

Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"Oy with the poodles already!" she exclaimed, suddenly wishing her daughter were here to witness her once-in-a-lifetime use of the catchphrase they had created at an infamous Friday night dinner.

"What?" he asked in complete confusion.

"Never mind; long story," Lorelai waved the comment off with a small flick of her hand.

"So, one hour. Town square," Lorelai confirmed.

Luke nodded.

"Oh, and the theme is Fantasy-slash-Fairytale-slash-Disney," Lorelai added, quoting Kirk from earlier that day.

"What's that even supposed to mean?" Luke asked.

"I don't know, but if you go as Prince Charming, you don't have to dress up," Lorelai winked.

Luke smiled, "ha, right. So what are you going to be dressed as?"

"That's easy, Belle," Lorelai replied, "Hey! And you can go as Beast!"

"Who?"

"Beauty and the Beast, Luke! C'mon, did you not watch Disney classics as a kid?" Lorelai asked in astonishment.

"No, not really. Well I watched that one movie... the one with the dogs. There were like, 301 of them?"

"101 Dalmatians, Luke! Honestly, one day we're going to have a Disney marathon," Lorelai said.

"I'm not going as a beast, Lorelai," Luke responded.

"You're not going as 'a beast,'" Lorelai corrected temperamentally, "You're going as _Beast_. It's a name."

"Oh, and let me guess, he's a beast?" Luke asked.

"Well, yeah. But there's this one part where he's human. You could go as the human Beast. He's kinda hot," Lorelai explained.

"You think a cartoon character is attractive?" Luke asked in disgust.

"As a matter of fact," Lorelai replied in feigned annoyance, "I do."

Luke rolled his eyes, "and what am I? Some ugly ogre with one eye?"

"Oh no," Lorelai began, to which Luke perked up slightly.

"You're much prettier than an ogre. Maybe a werewolf..." she trailed off, thinking to herself. Luke frowned, but Lorelai ignored him and went on.

"Now, you're going to need something nice to wear. I don't care if you have to 'Google' what Beast looks like. Show up like him, and I'll be the one in the pretty yellow ball gown, okay? See you in...." Lorelai checked the time on her phone, "in forty-five minutes."

She stood from the stool and made her way backwards towards the door.

"Alright," Luke agreed finally.

"Remember: Beast," Lorelai added.

He nodded, and the female turned and strolled out of the diner.

* * *

Several minutes later, Lorelai was ambling down the Stars Hollow sidewalk in Belle-like attire; a yellow dress and neatly, tied-back hair. Rory and Logan were at her side, the couple dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming. She hung delightedly on his arm, smiling brightly.

"Any stops on the way? Who knows what Kirk will have planned for the wedding; he refused to let Sookie cater," Lorelai asked.

"Why wouldn't he let Sookie cater?" Logan inquired.

"I don't know, something about fancy food?"

"Oh, well, you know chefs. They only know fancy food," Rory nodded.

"I think we'll be good," Logan said.

Lorelai nodded and the trio set off for the Square.

As they reached the square, Lorelai broke away from her daughter and boyfriend to join Luke. He was dressed as human Beast, his attire a cream-colored shirt with black, loose pants.

"Wow, Luke. Nice," Lorelai commented.

Luke scoffed, "Whatever. I feel awkward."

"You don't look awkward," Lorelai remarked.

"Well, I feel awkward."

"So you said," Lorelai laughed. Linking her arm with Luke's, she guided him towards Rory and Logan.

"Wow Luke, you look--" Rory began.

"Don't say anything," Luke warned, staring at the ground beneath his feet.

"I wasn't going to say anything!" Rory protested weakly.

"Just that you look...." Logan trailed.

"Different," Rory finished after a moment's thought.

Again, Luke scoffed. "Told you."

If you had never set foot in Stars Hollow before, the square looked chaotic. But to Lorelai, Luke, Rory and Logan, the town looked average. Kirk and Lulu had taken over the square, transforming the gazebo into a magnificent, semi-large palace. Wedding tents had been ordered and placed in a long row in front of the gazebo, giving off the appearance that the wedding tents comprised a hallway and the gazebo was a small church at the very end. Little children raced around the town, dressed as Disney princesses like Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. While many people were dressed up in respect for Kirk and his crazy ways, many also refused to take part and were donned in normal, yet formal, clothes.

"Hey, she stole my costume!" Rory exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at a little girl dressed in blue. The girl looked up at Rory, stared at her, and blinked.

"Excuse me? _I'm_ Cinderella. You're an imposter!" the girl shrieked suddenly, causing Rory to give a jump of surprise.

"I am not. If anything, you're the imposter. Can you even _spell_ Cinderella?" Rory accused. The little girl looked hurt.

"Guards!" she yelled. Rory couldn't help but laugh. But as a group of young boys, seeming to be her older brothers, marched towards, her, she frowned.

"No, no--" she broke off, "I was kidding!"

The foursome hurried away before the Cinderella's brothers got any nearer.

As they took up their seats (comfortably close to the alter, for Lorelai and Rory didn't want to miss a single thing) beneath the wedding tents, Gypsy spotted them and made her way over.

Lorelai nudged her daughter in the side.

"Ow, wha--" Rory looked over at Gypsy. She hid a laugh.

"Don't laugh! That's mean!" Lorelai accused, but couldn't help but give a small shake of laughter herself.

As Gypsy neared, the Gilmores had gathered themselves enough to make a polite greeting.

"Hey, Gypsy," Lorelai greeted.

"I see you're living up to your name," Rory commented.

Gypsy rolled her eyes in disgust.

"As much as I love this town, Kirk's a madman," she seethed.

"Oh, Gypsy," Lorelai laughed, "Are you just now figuring that out?"

The woman shrugged.

"Half the town isn't even dressed up!" she ranted.

At this, Lorelai nodded her agreement.

"I know, right? What happened to town spirit? What happened to supporting Kirk?" Lorelai inquired loudly.

"Kirk," Gypsy scoffed, "If I see him, he better be lucky I can't run in this silly outfit."

"Who are you supposed to be, anyways?" Luke asked in annoyance, "I don't remember there being a gypsy in any Disney movie."

Gypsy gasped, "Luke!"

"Sorry, Gypsy. Luke's no good with Disney movies," Lorelai pointed out.

"She's Esmeralda, Luke," Rory explained.

"Esmeralda who?" Luke asked.

"Esmeralda," Gypsy repeated, "From the Hunchback of Notre Dame."

"Of course," Luke huffed under his breath.

Gypsy joined them in the chair behind Lorelai, seating herself with a look of contempt.

"Hey Gypsy," Lorelai turned around, "If you're Esmeralda, who's Phoebus?"

Gypsy shook with laughter at this. "I convinced Andrew to come."

Rory whipped around in her seat, nearly knocking Logan from his. "You _what_?"

Gypsy nodded, "Yeah. He's supposed to be here, damn it."

Rory laughed openly.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon, Gypsy. Calm down," Luke remarked.

And, as if on cue, Andrew joined the group in the square. He looked around, spotted Lorelai and Rory turned around in their seats talking to some woman (who he presumed to be Gypsy), and strolled over.

"And look, here comes the dashing young man, now," Logan commented.

As Andrew joined them, Rory couldn't help but notice another pair in the background. Lane.

She smiled. Lane, though not Chinese, was dressed as Mulan. Fitting. Next to her was Zack, awkward as always. He seemed to be representing Shang as best he could, but Rory didn't think he served it justice. As Lane spotted Rory, she nudged Zack and the two hurried over. They took up seats in front of the two Lorelais, smiling.

"You know, this is actually sorta fun," Lane said.

Rory and Lorelai nodded their eager agreement.

"I still feel awkward," Luke said suddenly.

"Yeah, me too, man," Zack replied.

Eventually, the whole town crammed themselves under the wedding tents. As it happened, most of the people who refused to come in costume were seated on one side of the aisle, and the ones who had congregated on the other. Babette and Morey joined Lane and Zack in the second row dressed as Tarzan and Jane. For this, Babette had explained, Morey could not wear a shirt. And so, he was not. Sookie and Jackson eventually found a babysitter for Davey and Martha and pulled together a quick outfit as Peter Pan and Wendy. They joined Andrew and Gypsy behind Lorelai.

Soon after, the wedding ceremony began. First, there were six little dwarfs who raced down the aisle throwing flowers into the gathered crowd. Lorelai gave a small yelp of protest and swatted them away. Sookie made a desperate attempt to, as well.

"Hate—" Lorelai sputtered, "flying things."

Luke placed a hand on her arm, guiding it gently back to her side.

"Cut it out," he whispered. Lorelai merely sniffed angrily.

Next to her, Rory whispered, "Hey, aren't there seven dwarfs?"

Lorelai gasped, "You're right!"

But to answer their questioning comments, the next figure waddled down the aisle. It was none other than Taylor Doose, dressed as Grumpy. He wore a red tunic, brown pants and a brown hat. He was sporting a fake, longer beard and funny, beige-colored shoes. Lorelai whipped out her phone to take a picture, while Rory did the same with her camera.

"This is priceless," Rory commented.

"Definitely," Lorelai agreed.

Next to be noticed was Lulu. It seemed Taylor not only served as a source of amusement but as a distraction as well, for in the gazebo, rested a sleeping Lulu. Or, well, she pretended to be sleeping. Was she? Lorelai couldn't tell. It was obvious that she was Snow White, for her dressage definitely proved it; blue from the waist up, yellow from the waist down. She even had a red bow in her hair. An apple lay at her side, a bite missing. Logan came to the realization before Lorelai did.

"Oh my god, they're not going to—" he started. Rory silenced him with an absent wave of her hand which landed smartly on his mouth. "Hush," was all she said. Her eyes were glued to the scene unfolding.

"Hey, aren't I supposed to be the best man?" Luke suddenly asked.

"Oh, no," Lorelai shook her head, speaking quietly so as not to disrupt the procession, "I just wanted to ensure you'd come."

"Gee, thanks for the support," Luke said dryly.

"No problem," Lorelai replied with just as much sarcasm.

Reverend Skinner appeared from the other side of the gazebo, taking up a place behind the 'sleeping' Lulu. He seemed less-than-enthusiastic to be there.

"Well, it seems that this fair lady has fallen victim to a poisonous apple!" he cried plainly, as if he were reading from a sheet of paper.

"Who is ever to save her?" he cried next, flinging his arms to the sky above.

"Oh my god…." Lorelai stammered, her head turned in the opposing direction. Rory cast a glance over her shoulder and snickered. Luke and Logan turned as well.

There, standing at the end of the aisle, was Kirk. He wore white pants, beige boots, a loose white tunic, the whole shebang, complete with a red cape and goofy hat.

Lorelai had her phone up faster than Kirk could race down the aisle, and both she and Rory snapped another picture.

"I shall save the maiden!" Kirk yelled before running – err, skipping – down the aisle to Lulu's side.

"But how?" he asked. He stared down at Lulu's face, and, even though the wedding was completely insane and less than professional, it was easy to see how much he truly loved and cared for her.

"Maybe a kiss will awaken her," the Reverend stated.

"That it may!" Kirk cried. And, with anything but grace, he lifted Lulu's upper half from the ground and placed a delicate kiss on her lips.

For a moment, nothing happened. Kirk grew slightly panicked. _This was just supposed to be an act! _But finally, Lulu blinked her eyes open and stirred slightly.

"My prince!" she squealed in joy.

Kirk helped the girl to her feet and they stood, linked arm in arm, before the Reverend.

"We gather today in the—," Kirk cast the Reverend a hard glare, "—in the magnificent palace of Prince Charming," the Reverend said through somewhat gritted teeth, "to unite the families of Kirk Gleason and Lulu Binnes ."

Aside from the vows from Kirk, the rest of the procession went fairly normally.

"Do you, Kirk Gleason, take Lulu Binnes to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?" The Reverend asked.

"No," Kirk said automatically. A collective gasp from the guests ensued. Lorelai couldn't help but give a shake of laughter, to which Luke had to forcefully silence in fear of upsetting Lulu even further, who was on the brink of tears.

"What?" The Reverend asked, stupefied.

"Did you just say lawfully wedded knife?" Kirk asked.

"I--" Reverend Skinner began.

"Because Lulu's not a knife. Sure, she's sharp, but she's no knife. Maybe a spoon... or a fork. Maybe a spork. Maybe," he argued.

"KIRK!" Luke shouted impatiently from the crowd.

"Right, sorry..." Kirk trailed off sheepishly. Lulu gripped his arm.

"Well, Kirk?" Skinner inquired, "Do you?"

"Oh, yes," Kirk replied.

"I-I-I mean, I do."

The Reverend extended the same question to Lulu, to which she answered without flaw. The two shared a more passionate and intense kiss under the gazebo, and the Reverend was forced to break them up.

The partying began, and thus _also _began the marriage of Kirk and Lulu Gleason.

* * *

**Love it? Hate it?**

**Doesn't matter: Review it! (:**


	8. Au Revoir

**First of all, I said I was going to get one up yesterday.**

**I lied. SORRYYY.**

**Second, I had a really good plan for this chapter, and, well.... it didn't turn out the way I planned. I'll explain at the end.**

**Disclaimer: THIRD, I do not own Gilmore Girls, for if I did I wouldn't be writing this fanfic. (:**

* * *

Kirk and Lulu's wedding was a smash. Or, Kirk thought so. Over the course of the next few days, he handed 'thank you's to everyone in the town – whether they attended the wedding or not. The two newlyweds had no current plans on a honeymoon, but _had _bought the Twickham House. Kirk's departure from his mother's had been a big step, but it was still momentous and sweet.

Eventually, the two lovebirds disappeared to Disney and Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. When they returned, Kirk was sporting a plethora of Disney attire, all of which he claimed he had all along. He and Lulu had finished moving everything into their new abode, including a salad spinner from the Gilmores and Luke, which they had no idea of how to work.

* * *

Lorelai and Luke sat at the kitchen table, merely chatting.

"So, did you see Kirk's new clothes?" she asked.

"Mhmm," was all Luke said in response. Neither seemed too enthusiastic about their current topic, but both had nothing better to say.

"Wh-where was April?" Lorelai ventured.

"Oh. Anna wouldn't let her come," Luke grumbled.

"Why?" she inquired.

Luke heaved his shoulders in a shrug, "Dunno. She wouldn't say, exactly."

"So, uh… Why doesn't Anna let you see April?" she dared to ask.

"She lets me see her!" Luke argued.

"Yeah, once every month or so, now. Does she… I mean, does she like me?"

"Of course she likes you!" Luke exclaimed.

"She hasn't met me," Lorelai pointed out. Luke settled back down.

"I don't know, Lorelai," he admitted.

"April's your daughter, too. That should give you _some _rights. April loves Kirk, she should have been here," Lorelai said.

Luke nodded his agreement, "Yeah, she should have. I'll talk to Anna."

"Good," she replied, "In the meantime… "

She grabbed a box of left-over pizza from the fridge and dragged Luke into the living room, where they comfortably seated themselves on the couch to start a movie.

"Heavyweights or Wizard of Oz?" she asked.

Luke contemplated his options, "Heavyweights. I'm not watching the Wizard of Oz again… after last night. Besides, some weightlifting would be good."

_Heavyweights has nothing to do with weightlifting… _Lorelai smirked, but said nothing. She put in the movie and made herself comfortable in the crook of Luke's arm.

* * *

Within the Gilmore household, a single phone rang. The monotone sound vibrated throughout the home, bouncing off the walls and into the ears of the inhabitants, who just happened to be sleeping.

Lorelai groaned. Half-conscious, and thinking it was her alarm clock, she slammer her fist on her bedside table.

"Bad alarm," she groaned, "more sleep."

"It's not the alarm," Luke muttered.

Lorelai rolled over. She sat up slightly, propping herself up with her elbows. She strained her ears. Sure enough, it was the phone downstairs. Moaning and complaining, she flopped back down onto her mattress, sinking her head into her pillow.

Footsteps pounded the stairs and a disgruntled Rory stumbled in.

"Last day before I go back to Yale, and I'm woken up by that insane ringing," she complained, "are you gonna get that?"

"No," Lorelai's muffled reply came from the pillow, her head facedown towards it. "Machine."

_Hello, you've reached Squeegee Beckenheim and Tookie Clothespin. Sorry we're not in, we're currently on a wild adventure in search of missing anvils. But leave us a message and we'll get back to you… if giant poodles—"_ "_Oy with the poodles already!"_ sounded from a psycho Rory in the background. "_—don't take over the world first. Kay, Squeegee and Tookie out!"_

"Nice voicemail," Luke remarked.

"Shh," Lorelai silenced.

The trio gathered upstairs, waiting for the recording to start. When it did, they fell completely silent. The complaining stopped; even Paul Anka dared not stir.

"Hey, Lor," Chris's familiar voice rang over the receiver, causing Lorelai to look up and sit up slightly, "I know you don't want to talk to me, but… this is important."

Luke snorted in disbelief, "Yeah, sure." This time, both Gilmores silenced him.

"I'd really like to talk to you in person about this – all three of you. Yes, Luke too. It's… big. And, well, I'd just _really _like to tell you guys face to face. And not to pressure you or anything, but it's gotta be done in the next few days. I'll explain when I see you – err, if I see you. What about we meet at the Dragonfly? Tomorrow at noon good? If not, give me a shout. If you don't call, I'll expect to see the three of you there." Chris paused, as if he thought the last sentence sounded too demanding. "Just… please come, okay?" The line went dead.

Lorelai looked at Luke. His fists were clenched, but otherwise he said nothing.

"Luke… it sounds important."

"Really important," Rory pitched in.

Luke nodded, "Yeah. We better see what it is."

"I mean, I know you don't lik—_we?_" she stopped mid-sentence, echoing the man's last words. She brightened significantly.

"Well, I'm not letting you meet alone," Luke responded gruffly.

"I—"

"Do you want to meet him alone? Me stay at the diner?"

"What? Luke, no! I only meant—"

"That you didn't think I'd want to go," Luke finished matter-of-factly.

"Well… yeah. I mean, it's Christopher…" Lorelai nodded.

"Well I'm Luke."

"That's _so_ not what I meant."

"I know… sorry. I jumped to conclusions. Look, he sounded like he wants me there. To talk. I'm fine with going if you are," Luke explained.

Lorelai smiled, "Good… okay." She looked up at Rory. "Hey kiddo."

"Hey, mom. We getting' anything for school?"

"Do you _need _anything?" Lorelai asked.

"Nothing but time with my loving mother."

"I'm sure Eva Braun would be thrilled to hear that," Lorelai responded.

"Hey! Cruel!" Rory objected.

"Yeah, well so are you for waking me up at…" she turned her head to the clock, "At friggin' seven in the morning!"

"_I _didn't do that, _that _was the phone; that's dad's fault," Rory pointed out.

"No. Yours. You couldn't have answered it down there, buddy? Huh? Someone not have their head screwed on straight?"

"I didn't know if you wanted me to or not!"

"Hello! _Your _house, too!" Lorelai exclaimed. She plopped back down into her bed and threw the covers over her face.

"Mommy-Daughter time later," she conceded, "After sleep!"

* * *

The next morning, the trio of Gilmore-Danes headed for the Dragonfly. The ride was silent for the most part, with minimal and pointless conversation shared among them.

Inside, Chris was already waiting. He had Gigi with him, and Rory immediately went to her side, planting a small kiss in her hair.

"Hey Gigi!" she greeted.

"Rory," Gigi replied.

"Yes, Rory," Rory agreed.

Lorelai smiled and turned her attention to Chris, "Hey."

"You came," Chris noted.

Luke gave a stiff nod, "Yep…"

"I thought you might not," he admitted.

Lorelai shrugged, "Ehh. We happened to be in town, y'know…" she joked.

Chris smiled. "Well, I won't keep you too long."

"Yes, what's so important?" Lorelai inquired curiously.

"Uh… how about we take a seat?" Christopher suggested.

Lorelai turned to Luke, who shrugged.

"Okay," she agreed. Rory and Luke followed as Lorelai led the way into the sitting area, Chris and Gigi not far behind.

Once they were seated, Chris continued.

"As you know, Sherry moved to Paris," he started.

"Yes, and ditched her daughter," Luke commented without a thought. Lorelai nudged him roughly, "Be nice," she muttered.

Chris cringed slightly, taking the comment to heart, but maintained his overall composition. "Yes," he confirmed, "She left me with Gigi. She started dating her yoga instructor, as I'm also sure you know. But as of recently… they broke up. And, well…" he trailed off, searching for the right words.

"Oh my god, don't tell me she's pregnant again," Lorelai jumped to conclusion.

"No, no," Chris chuckled softly, "Nothing like that. She… She wants Gigi and me to join her in Paris."

"Gigi _and you_?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah! Both of us," Chris was smiling, "She said she was sorry for leaving, and she wanted to have another shot at our relationship. Bond with Gigi… all three of us."

"That—that's great, Chris," Lorelai stammered.

"Yeah, it is. So I suppose I wanted to talk to you, because… well… I'm not going to get in the way anymore. I screwed things up between you two, I know I did. I think Lor and I would have done well, but, Luke… you two belong together. I can clearly see that. I couldn't, at first, because… Well, I guess I was blinded by my love for Rory's mother. But, and not to say I've gotten over it, I've realized that I've only taken advantage of you, Lorelai. I shouldn't have let you come to me that night, I should've sent you away, or refused or something. I… I loved you. I still do, but… not in the way you love Luke. So… I guess… I'm sorry."

"Chris—" Lorelai started, a small smile creeping onto her face. Was he trying to make amends with Luke? Really?

"Keep in touch, will you?" he asked.

Luke glanced at Lorelai and Rory. Seated side by side, they were both staring blankly at Chris. All these years Chris had chased after Lorelai, broken up she and him, he was going away? Possibly forever? His whole dreams were coming true in this single instant. He gave a small smile to Chris.

"Sure," he consented finally. He tried his best to keep the hatred out of his voice, and almost succeeded.

"Great," Chris replied, "I guess I'll come back for the wedding, if you'll have me. And Gigi can look forward to another half-sibling!"

Lorelai blinking. _Wedding? Half-sibling? _What was this man _on_? These things hadn't even been re-discussed yet! She only managed a slight nod.

"Yeah, sounds good," Rory agreed.

Chris stood up, and the two Gilmores hugged him one final time. Rory was tearing up slightly, the thought of her father moving to Paris sending jealousy through her veins. She fought it away, though, and smiled.

"Have fun in Paris, Dad," she said.

"I'll try, kid," Chris replied. The two embraced and broke apart, Rory then moving on to give her younger half-sibling a hug.

Lorelai walked with Chris to the door silently. In the doorway, she stopped.

"See you around?"

"Only if you're in Paris," Chris replied.

"Oh, well I guess I better get me a plane ticket."

"Lorelai…" Chris warned, unwilling to take any jokes that involved the two together anymore.

"We're done now, I know we are. But… I won't forget," Chris muttered, loud enough only for the two of them.

"I won't either, Chris," Lorelai responded quietly.

With a final exchange of hugs, the two Haydens hopped into the car and disappeared down the road. With a small sigh, Lorelai turned and headed back to Luke.

"So…" Luke trailed.

Lorelai laughed, "That the best you can do, diner man?"

"Well. I don't know. He was talking about _marriage._ Between _us…_" he trailed again.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what that was about either," Lorelai said.

"Huh. So he thinks we're going to get married."

"Well we are…. Aren't we?"

"Lorelai, are you proposing to me _again_?" Luke asked with a small laugh.

"Uhh… I guess I sort of am," Lorelai admitted.

Luke, speechless, changed the subject.

"And what was with the 'half-sibling' thing?" he asked.

Lorelai contemplated switching the subject back, but decided against it.

"I guess he thinks we're going to have a kid… or two."

Luke nodded. "I suppose."

""I mean, what else does 'half-sibling' mean?" she asked.

"Half a sibling?" Luke offered.

Lorelai rolled her eyes, "Yeah. That's it."

* * *

Lorelai and Luke were seated at the kitchen table, a formal dinner set out between the two. Two candles flickered in the center, steak and potatoes filling the two plates. The utensils clattered on the plate, and all was silent.

"So earlier, when I was talking about marriage…" Lorelai started. She waiting for indication that Luke was listening.

Luke nodded to signal that he was.

"I uh, well… Can we talk about it?" she asked uncomfortably.

Setting down his fork, Luke looked up from his meal.

"Sure," he agreed with a small shrug. Lorelai hesitated, but continued.

"Well, err… We tried marriage once, and… you saw how that turned out. But that was just… because of misunderstandings," she started.

Luke nodded. "Misunderstandings. as in April."

"Well, yeah. But things after that, as well. We didn't handle it the way we should have…" she trailed.

"Lorelai—"

"And, well… I think things could have ended differently…"

"Lorelai—" Luke attempted to interject again.

"I shouldn't have slept with Chris. All three of us know that, now. And I know I hurt you, I do. And you've hurt me, too. But—"

"Lorelai," Luke interrupted again, firmer and harsher this time. The woman stopped babbling and looked up, her eyes having formerly been trained on her lap. "I love you, you know that."

"Yeah…" Lorelai nodded.

"And, well…. Marriage _would _be nice," Luke agreed.

"…but?" Lorelai probed.

"But what?" Luke asked, taken aback.

In confusion, Lorelai shook her head, "You sounded like there was gonna be a 'but' after that."

"There wasn't."

"Oh… well then what?" Lorelai asked in perplexion.

"I can't imagine my life without you," Luke whispered under his breath.

If Lorelai hadn't strained her ears, she wouldn't have heard it.

But, just to clarify, she asked, "What?"

"I-- I can't imagine my life without you," he repeated, slightly louder this time. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but Lorelai smiled brightly.

"Luke..." she said softly.

"Lorelai… will you marry me?"

* * *

**So uh, I meant for the last exchange to be serious. Like, a lot.**

**And I definitely planned for it to be longer. Wayyyyyyyy longer.**

**But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get Lorelai to be serious.**

**That damn Lorelai Gilmore (story reference ;D). It just didn't work out. D:**

**Love it? Hate it?**

**Review it anyways! Reviews are my imagination fuel!~**

**Personally, I don't really like parts of this chapter. Eurrg. I liked the Chris part, not so much the ending. **

**The next chapter.... not sure when it will be up. Hopefully soon.**


	9. Ninja Lambs

**Well, here it is! **

**You know the drill: Read. Review. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls... I'm running out of 'ifs.' Well, if I owned GG, I would have made Marty and Lucy get back together. :3 **

**I like seeing Marty happy. And if he's happy with Lucy, good. x3**

* * *

Lorelai blinked in surprise. Her jaw slightly agape, she stammered a reply.

"Luke, I—" she began.

"I mean, I know I screwed up. I screwed up big. But you know we belong together," Luke continued eagerly.

"Luke," Lorelai started again.

"You know it, I know it, _Rachel knows it_," he added.

"Luke—Rachel?" Lorelai broke off.

"A long time ago. Five or six years ago. That's why she left. She thought… she thought I loved you."

"Did you?" Luke's mentioning of his former flame drew Lorelai from answering.

"I—" he started, "I always have. I've _always _loved you, Lorelai. Since the day I met you, I've loved you."

Lorelai smiled. For nine long years, Luke had watched her go through man after man with little to no luck. He watched her with Max, Jason, Chris and Alex… and did nothing. Or, so she had thought.

Now that she considered this simple statement from Luke, she realized he _had _been in love with her from the moment they met.

After his mentioning Rachel, she remembered the day when Rachel had left. Luke hadn't hinted much, but hinted that she probably wouldn't be back. And, as he had started to say something else, Max had entered. What had he been about to say? Then, she recalled, Max and Luke had a very odd discussion. At the surface, it seemed to be a simple debate about time, but, upon closer examination, Lorelai noticed it wasn't about tools at all. No, it was about something _much _bigger.

"Are you gonna answer me, or am I going to have to ask again?" Luke asked.

"Ask again," Lorelai purred.

The man stifled a chuckle. Just what he had wanted. With a small glance to a hidden Rory, the lights turned off. Luke blew out the candles. Complete darkness enveloped the kitchen. All was silent. Not even Paul Anka stirred.

"Err… Luke? I'm not playing 'Murder.' That's too scary with a scruffy man like you. I mean, you're the idea image of a killer. Way too suitable for the game. I'll be scarred for life, and…" Lorelai rambled.

Halfway through, the lights flickered on again. There beside her chair knelt Luke. In the palm of his hand sat a box. And, inside the box sat a ring. The same ring he had originally picked for Lorelai. He had asked Rory to find it sometime ago, and the daughter had come through. Having found it stashed amongst Lorelai's other belongings in her drawer by her bed, she retrieved it for the diner owner happily. Luckily, Lorelai hadn't noticed its disappearance. Originally, he planned to get her a new ring, but the sentimentality in the ring didn't happen by every day, and the meaning of the original was too momentous to ignore. The ring represented the first phase in Luke and Lorelai's relationship; peace and trials. Happiness and tribulations. And now, it also resembled the _second _phase in their relationship: survival. They had survived.

"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, will you marry me?"

Lorelai gave a slight gasp. Yes, she had asked him to ask again, but she didn't mean in a better way! In a more formal way…! She blinked back tears, giving a loving smile to the man before her.

"Yes I will, Lucas Allen Danes," she replied.

The sincere moment over, in Lorelai's eyes, she snatched the box from Luke's grasp. Pulling the ring out of the box, she thrust it on her finger. Grinning, she admired the new jewelry that adorned her hand. Luke offered his hand, which Lorelai gratefully took, and the two rose to stand. Looking around, Lorelai found a suitable drink in her fridge and pulled out two cups. Luke took them away and set them on the counter. Pulling her closer, he chuckled.

"We don't need cups," he objected.

"But there are germs! What if Rory gets sick?"

"I doubt Rory's going to be having wine from your fridge. Don't you think?"

"Uh! I'm offended," Lorelai gasped.

"Stop talking, Lorelai," Luke whispered.

He kissed her firmly, his hand sliding up to hold her gently behind her neck. After they shared a passionate kiss, they broke apart and Lorelai laughed.

"So, are you ready for another Friday night dinner?" she asked.

"As long as you're there, I'm ready for anything."

* * *

The doorbell rang once before the door swung open. A maid stood in the doorway, a completely different one from the previous dinner. Lorelai stepped inside and handed her coat off to the maid. Luke followed suit.

"Hey, you're new!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Yes," the maid agreed.

"Do you… have a name?" Lorelai pried.

"N-n-no…" the maid shook her head nervously.

"No? You don't have a name?" Lorelai asked, "Well that's odd. I mean, everyone has a name. Unless they're nameless. Or they forgot their name. Did you forget your name?" Lorelai only stopped when Luke placed a hand on her arm.

"Lorelai, stop harassing my maid," Emily's voice came from the sitting area. "Come join your father and I."

Obeying her mother, Lorelai led the way into the living room. Emily looked up in surprise upon seeing a man at Lorelai's side. Or, more specifically, Luke.

"Oh," she said plainly, "Luke."

"Gee, I can feel the love already," Luke muttered under his breath. Lorelai elbowed him in the side.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Emily inquired.

"Nothing," Luke responded.

"You know, it's not polite to talk under your breath. Actually, it's rather rude," Emily pointed out.

"Sorry," Luke apologized.

Emily raised her eyebrows, as if unimpressed by his less-than-sincere apology.

"Well, nice to see you again, Luke," She said his name more of an after-thought, restraining herself from asking the begging question; 'why are you here?' She'd wait for a proper time when she and Lorelai were alone.

"Nice to see you too, Mrs—Emily," Luke nodded.

Lorelai and Luke took up seats on the sofa across from Emily and Richard.

"Luke!" Richard greeted, "How is that diner of yours?"

"Oh, uh, it's doing fine," Luke replied uneasily.

"That's good. I see you haven't taken up my suggestion on expanding," Richard said.

"Oh, no. I prefer to stick to Stars Hollow. We're doing fine now, why bother changing?"

Richard shrugged, but said nothing in reply.

"Is Rory coming?" Emily asked her daughter.

"No, she can't. She's going back to Yale tonight," Lorelai apologized.

"Oh, well isn't that convenient," Emily sniffed.

"Mom! Really!" Lorelai exclaimed.

Emily shrugged, "Okay. It's just that we haven't seen her in a while—"

"You saw her last week," Lorelai argued.

"—and we'd really like to make sure she wasn't abducted or kidnapped—"

"Same thing."

"—and that she wasn't sold off to a prostitute company or something in Russia—"

"A _prostitute company?_ Mother, she's at Yale studying."

Emily raised an eyebrow, "Well if she really can't make it…"

"She really can't," Lorelai assured.

The drinks had been downed and the conversation had died, and soon enough it was time for dinner. The maid announced it and led the way into the dinner room, where Emily and Richard took up seats at opposite ends of the table and Lorelai and Luke took up positions across from one another. Lamb chops neatly lined each plate. Lorelai stared down at them in confusion.

"Why are lamb chops called 'lamb chops?'" she asked.

"Excuse me?" Emily inquired.

"Cause I mean, lambs don't have chops. Like… karate chops?"

"Lorelai," Richard sighed in annoyance.

"When you think about it, the name is really absurd," she continued.

"Lorelai," Richard's voice was firmer this time. He glared at his daughter in a desperate attempt to silence her ludicrous thoughts, but to no avail.

"The last time I checked, lambs didn't chop anything. Maybe they're like…. Victims of ninja lambs."

"Lorelai, stop this ridiculous nonsense," Emily commanded.

"So we're eating the _victims _of ninja lambs. That's actually kinda cool when you think about it like that. I'm eating ninja-lamb victims," Lorelai smiled.

She cast a glance at Luke across the table, who was smirking to himself. He refused to engage himself in the nonsense, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it.

Emily rolled her eyes, "So, Luke. How's the diner?" she asked smoothly.

Luke looked up from his plate.

"Oh, it's fine," he replied.

"Business good?" she pushed on.

"Yeah, business is normal. People gotta eat somewhere."

"Yes… they do…" Emily agreed airily, fighting to keep contempt out of her voice. The fact that her daughter had brought the diner man to her house bothered her. Why had she? The last she had heard, they were broken up. Where they back together? Surely not. But soon enough, she found her answer.

"Hey, so…Mom," Lorelai started conversation again with a nervous glance towards Luke, who nodded in encouragement.

"Eat your food, Lorelai," was Emily's only response, her gaze trained on her plate.

"But, Mom," Lorelai argued, "I- I've got something to tell you. Tell _both _of you."

She glanced between her mother and father, looking to make sure they were paying attention.

Richard looked up from his plate, as did his wife on the opposite end.

"We're listening, Lorelai," Richard assured. He put down his fork.

"Err, okay. Well… Luke and I…" she trailed.

"Luke and you are… what?" Emily asked after a long pause.

"We're engaged."

The hand she had been attempting to conceal – and succeeding rather well – came up from her lap and rested on the table. Her mother stared down at it. Richard's gaze faltered, but he looked down at it, too. Lorelai shifted uncomfortably. While her parents inspected the ring, she cast a glance at Luke. _Help_, she mouthed. Luke shook with silent laughter. _Yeah right_, he mouthed back. He gave a mischievous smirk, to which Lorelai matched, _you're gonna regret this, mister._

"Well that's lovely, Lorelai," Richard proclaimed.

Emily nodded her agreement, "Is a date set yet?"

"Uh, well, no. Not yet," Lorelai replied.

"But one will be set?" she asked.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes, "Well, yeah. I mean, it's not an engagement if there's no wedding."

"Well I was just asking!" Emily defended, "After all, you were engaged once, and nothing ever happened."

"Hey!" Lorelai protested, but Emily had changed the subject.

"So, Luke. I guess that makes you our son-in-law."

"Well, not officially," Luke replied, "yet."

Emily nodded, "Of course. Yet."

"And I presume Rory knows?" Richard questioned.

"You presume correctly," Luke put in.

"And?" he asked.

"And she's fine with it, of course. We spoke before we got here. She's happy, really," Lorelai replied.

"And what about her and Logan?"

"What _about _her and Logan?" Lorelai asked.

"Are things going well?"

"As far as I'm aware, yes. They're doing great," Lorelai said.

"That's good."

As the night came to a close, Lorelai and Luke left the Gilmore estate for Luke's truck.

"Still the same truck, I see," Emily commented.

Luke nodded, "Yep. Still runs great."

"Yes… I like it. Nice and… _rustic._"

"Err… thanks," Luke replied uneasily.

There it was again. _Rustic. _Emily-speak for 'It looks like a load of crap.'

Lorelai glared at her mother, but said nothing and climbed into the truck.

"Well, Luke. You have a nice evening," Emily said politely.

Luke nodded, "Yeah, you too," he responded gruffly.

Emily nodded once, and she and Richard retreated a few paces back to watch them as they departed.

Luke slid into his truck, turned on the ignition, and backed out.

"They're getting married," Emily repeated as they watched the car disappear.

"So it seems," Richard replied.

"They're getting _married?_" Emily asked again.

"Yes, Emily. _Married_; they're getting married," Richard responded.

"It's just so new!" Emily exclaimed.

"Well not _really,_" Richard pointed out, "They've been engaged before."

"Yes," Emily agreed, "But not like this."

* * *

**Nope, not like this, Emily. (:**

**This time, it's fersrs (for serious; for real x3). **

**Short-ish...**

**but POSSIBLY the wedding in the next chapter. (: **

**We'll see.**

**You know the drill;**

**Like it? Hate it?**

**Doesn't matter: Review it anyways. C:**


	10. Fancy Food and a Critical Conversation

**So, here we go. After like, forever. Dx Sorry, I fell out of the GG-funk I need to keep going with fanfictions. **

**This isn't really my best chapter... like I said, fell outta mahh funk. But it's something, at least. Sort of a filler chapter... in a way. **

**See how you like it. ^^**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls, Lorelai wouldn't have married Chris without Rory there.**

* * *

The wedding plans were tiring. Instead of planning the wedding like the first, Lorelai and Luke decided to have the wedding closer to home. For a while, they considered the wedding in the square but later decided against it. They had lost a lot of money on the original wedding deposit a year ago, so they decided they needed something both cheap yet fashionable. Of course, Emily had offered to cover any expenses, but Lorelai had rejected the offer, insisting on doing things on thier own. Grudgingly, the Gilmore obliged to her daughter's wishes.

In the end, Luke had suggested - almost jockingly - the Dragonfly. Lorelai had taken him seriously and considered the venue. The two were at the diner, Lorelai at her usual spot at the counter. Luke stood opposite, checking through the receipts from the previous day.

"The Dragonfly... that could work. The horses-"

"We're not having a wedding near the horses."

"- the sentimentality..." Lorelai ignored Luke's comment, thinking. "The Dragonfly would actually work really well. Sookie would gladly make the food for us, Michel could do with some arm-twisting, hasn't had any lately..."

"I was kidding," Luke stated plainly.

"Oh," Lorelai smiled, "Well... I wasn't; the Dragonfly would work great."

"I suppose it would, but wouldn't you want it someplace else?" Luke asked.

"Like where? The Dragonfly's perfect."

"I don't know... I mean, don't you want it to be... more special?" Luke asked.

"More special than the place of our first kiss?" Lorelai countered.

Luke opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he couldn't find the right words.

"Yeah, top that, mister," Lorelai replied teasingly, a wide smile on her face.

"Lorelai, really," Luke sighed in exaustion, "the Dragonfly?"

"Yeah. The Dragonfly. Best inn in Connecticut. Run by the best-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Luke warned.

"What?" Lorelai asked innocently, "I was only going to say I'm the best manager ever!"

"Oh," Luke muttered.

"What'd you think I was gonna say?" she asked with a giggle.

"Nothing," Luke replied quietly, "Forget it."

Lorelai laughed childishly, "Dirty!"

"No, that's not what I meant," Luke argued.

"You're a bad liar," she teased. "But really. I think the inn's perfect."hurried i

"Well of course you do," Luke scoffed.

"Hey!" Lorelai objected indignantly.

"Sorry. Look, if the Dragonfly is really where you want to have it..." Luke shrugged, "I guess that's OKAY."

"Really?" Lorelai asked hopefully.

"Really. But I wouldn't ask again."

Lorelai smiled. Leaning over across the counter, she placed a kiss on Luke's lips.

"Thanks," she said.

"For you; anything," Luke replied.

Lorelai pulled back and pushed back from the counter. She stood there smiling at Luke, "See you tonight?" she asked.

Luke nodded, "Yeah, tonight."

Lorelai swung around and walked out of the diner quite satisfied.

At the Dragonfly, Lorelai hurried into the kitchen to arrange things with Sookie. When she entered the kitchen, however, the kitchen staff busied themselves with their tasks, but the chef, Sookie, was nowhere to be found. She blinked in confusion. Usually, she loved to be in the midst of things, correcting her staff and making things on her own. A clatter came from the storage room and Lorelai spun around in surprise. She threw open the closet, only to find Sookie standing in the middle of chaos, baskets of soap littering the floor and a few towels strewn around. Small tears ran down Sookie's face, and she wiped them away with one of the towels off the shelf.

"Sookie..." Lorelai coaxed her friend out of the storage room. Taking her friend's arm, she then sought out one of the waiters. Instead, she came across Manny first.

"Manny! Why weren't you watching her?"

The Hispanic shrugged, "She said no bother."

Lorelai sighed. Manny walked off and she turned to Sookie. "What happened?"

Sookie, still sniffing sobs, managed to explain the situation. She and Jackson had argued, apparently, and the whole scenario had ended with him storming angrily out the kitchen door. It had been bad, apparently; the whole charade had originated from Jackson's - as Sookie deemed them - "unusable" crops, but had escalated into something much worse and much /much/ bigger.

It had started off normally, with Jackson bringing in the crops he had to offer for the week. Sookie had inspected them, as she always did, and found them unusable. It had been strange, she said, that the crops were not to her standards, but she refused to use them even if they did come from her husband's garden. They had argued, and, Sookie growing mad, had called Jackson a horrible farmer and cared more for his crops than he did his family - he slept outside with them the past few nights. In retaliation, Jackson had called Sookie a 'perfectionist' whose food was too fancy.

Sookie swung her head in dismay.

"So you're in the closet because...?" Lorelai pressed.

"The food can't mock me here."

"Right... of course," Lorelai agreed.

"Well, Sook. Your food is fancy because that's the way we want it here, Jackson knows that."

Sookie shook her head. "No, not here. At home."

"Oh..." Lorelai trailed.

In a desperate attempt to console her friend, Lorelai tried to send her home. This plan worked to no avail, however, as Sookie refused to go home if Jackson was there. Having no way of knowing if he were there or not, Sookie was determined to stay at the inn. She would not, however, cook the food. She refused to carry out her duty as chef, Jackson's words striking too close to home.

"Sookie, you have to cook eventually. You _love _to cook."

"Not anymore."

"Sookie!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"No! My food's too fancy!"

"Here at the Dragonfly we love fancy! We're all about fancy!" Lorelai argued.

"No."

"Well you have to go home eventually."

"No I won't."

"Yeah, if you want a place to sleep that's not a... hollow tree or a house with seven little dwarves."

"Oh, well I'd stay at your place."

"Y-You would?"

"Yep."

"But Sookie... what about Davey? Martha?"

Sookie stared at her.

"Your kids...?" Lorelai prompted.

"I know that," Sookie snapped, "Jackson can take care of them."

"Sookie," Lorelai said, "Davey's three, Martha's two. He can't handle two toddlers on his own."

"So he'll hire a sitter."

"They need their mother _and_ their father," Lorelai argued.

Sookie, now a ball of emotions, exploded.

"I don't need parenting advice from you," she snapped.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means; don't tell me my children need both parents when yours didn't," Sookie replied.

"I was different," Lorelai pointed out.

"Oh yeah. Different! Knocked up at sixteen, had a baby and ran away from home. Wow! Real unique!"

"What? You think I planned that? I was sixteen. I wasn't ready for a child. But I did. And I wouldn't change a thing. No, Rory didn't grow up with her father. but she had Luke. Who was as good as. He well could have been her father; cared more for her than Chris ever seemed to. But the point is, there's a different between our situations. You have a choice of getting to know your kids. Chris chose not to come for us. And he missed out. You will too, if you don't stop acting so childish," Lorelai said hotly.

Sookie stared angrily at her friend, biting her lower lip in contemplation, "...Fine," she agreed.

"Fine?"

"I'll go home, for the kids' sake, but I'm ignoring Jackson, and I'm still not cooking."

"Yes you _are._ Because Luke and I want our wedding here. At the Dragonfly. With your fabulous cooking and Michel's unfriendliness that's sure to put a damper on Emily's mood."

"You want your wedding at the Dragonfly?" Sookie asked in amazement.

"Well we did..." Lorelai trailed in an attempt to convince Sookie to change her mind.

"Fine. I'll cook _then_. But not until then."

So, for now, Manny agreed to take over the task.

* * *

Luke and Lorelai sat at the kitchen table, an empty notebook open in front of them. They had settled on the Dragonfly, and they also agreed to have the wedding in Spring. Now, they pondered over the guest list. They had decided on a small wedding, but Lorelai kept spewing out new names to add to the ever-growing list.

"Oh! And the workers."

"What workers?" Luke asked with a sigh, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"The ones who fixed up the house."

"We are not inviting the construction workers to the wedding. I never want to see them again," Luke replied, a grudge still held against the workers.

"What? Just because they saw me naked that _one_ time doesn't make them bad guys," Lorelai defended.

"You don't even know them."

"Sure I do! They like brown sugar cinnamon poptarts and pizza. That's all there is to them."

"They don't need to be at the wedding," Luke replied firmly.

"Fine," Lorelai gave in, "But I'm keeping Paul Anka."

She tossed an affectionate glance to her dog, who was curled up, dozing peacefully by Rory's door.

Luke rolled her eyes, "A dog at a wedding," he remarked.

"Yeah, well. Figured the other might need some company," Lorelai shrugged.

"What other dog?" Luke asked warily.

"The dog," Lorelai replied with a sigh as if it were obvious. Luke raised his eyebrow.

"And her faithful companion of an actually lovable human being."

"Oh, that dog," Luke realized Lorelai had been referring to her mother, Emily Gilmore.

"Yeah," Lorelai stated.

The two sat in silence for a moment, staring at one another. It was Luke who spoke first.

"So... April," he began.

"Like... the month?" Lorelai asked dumbly, though she knew the answer.

"No. April, my daughter."

"Oh, yeah... that April. What about her?" Lorelai asked.

"Do you - I mean - do you want her there?"

There was a moment's hesitation before Lorelai made her response. "Of course I do; she's your daughter, Luke."

"Yeah but - ... never mind."

"But what?"

"Well, I just thought that you might not want her there."

"Why?"

"Well, uh.. cause, well... I didn't think she was your favorite person?"

"Why?"

"Well I mean... she's Anna's daughter..."

"Yeah..." Lorelai said uneasily, "And Rory's Chris's daughter. But you don't hate Rory, do you?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Luke exclaimed.

"Well then what's the problem?" Lorelai asked.

"Err... let's see... well. I didn't think you'd like her. Since... you know... she kinda... broke our relationship," Luke stammered nervously.

"Actually," Lorelai pointed out, "that was your doing. You neglected to tell me about her, and I found out on my own. And then I was never around when she was, which was a lot of the time. Because that was how you wanted it. She wasn't the main reason we broke up, Luke. Believe it or not, she wasn't."

"You were around when she was!" Luke attempted to defend himself, though he knew it wasn't true.

"No, Luke! I wasn't! You always said, 'April's coming over at three, her mom'll pick her up around seven. So any time after that.' You never once asked if Ii wanted to meet her, or drop by to say hello. You just assumed I wouldn't want to talk to her."

Luke realized she was right. He never allowed April to meet Lorelai or vice versa. Ultimately, their break up the year previous was his fault, not April's.

"Oh," was all he said.

Still slightly upset, she shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"So yes, invite April," she finished.

Luke nodded, "Okay."

"And... sorry," he added.

Lorelai shrugged, "it's fine."

"No..." Luke argued, "It's not okay."

"It's not?"

"No. I shouldn't have used April to push you away. I didn't mean to... but I did. When April came, I just... I guess I thought I had to stabilize my relationship with her before anything else. So I - unknowingly - pushed you away. I was afraid, too. That she'd take to you more than she would me," Luke explained.

"Luke. April is your daughter; you're her father. She could never love anyone more than you - more than her parents," Lorelai assured.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Anna-"

Lorelai scoffed.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Anna," she seethed.

"What about her?" Luke asked through narrowed eyes.

"I talked to Anna. After April's party. I started to tell you about it when-" she broke off. Luke nodded to signal he remembered the brief mentioning of the visit.

"- Yeah. Well I went to her store and we talked. About April... and you."

"April and... me?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. We were talking about whether our relationship was stable. Whether our relationship would really last. I wanted her to be able to trust me so I _could _hang with April."

"And?" Luke pushed.

"And she told me she had no idea if your relationship would last, and she didn't want April to grow too attached in case we broke up. She wasn't very nice about it, either. I mean, I understand where she's coming from, in a way. But I already talked to her… bonded with her, sorta. There's no erasing the small relationship we had formed. I guess she didn't care though… she still didn't want me to be around April when she was with you. Because, like I already said, she had no way of knowing if our relationship would last. Or if I were a nice person… I guess."

"She said that?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Pretty much. Some other things, but nothing I can recall right now."

"I don't _believe _her. She had no right to pass judgment on our relationship!"

"Luke, it's fine. Let it go."

"No, I'm going to talk to her," Luke argued.

"No, Luke. Please, don't to that…"

"Fine. I'll invite her to the wedding. How's _that _for lasting?"

Lorelai couldn't help but laugh. "Now, little Napoleon, calm down."

* * *

**So, there we go. I got a little April conversation in, like I wanted them to talk about earlier. I also threw Anna in there. I dunno how I like it. /=**

**Hm. So! Review!**

**...please? :3 **


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